The invention relates to a device for fixing a loadable rigid retaining plate to a furniture surface clause of claim 1.
In a device of this type shown in FIG. 8 of Steinhilher, U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,427, a retaining plate is placed flat on a desk top and fixed thereto by means of a stick-on textile hook and loop fastener, one part of which is bonded to the desk top. The retaining plate carries a vertical support post, which is suitable for holding different functional elements, for example the platform of a raised work stand, of a monitor holder, of a telephone arm, of a lamp or the like. Thereby any kind of writing desks and workbenches can be retrofitted by means of the vertical support post.
Securing the retaining plate on the desk top has the advantage compared with conventional clamping devices that the attaching structure is independent of the form of the desk top and of the furniture. In particular, this type of attaching structure can be used for any thickness of the desk top, for any edge form of the desk top and even for desk tops that do not project over the body.
The retaining plate can be removed from the furniture surface without causing damage thereto. For this purpose, the rigid retaining plate is first separated in the region of the stick-on fastener. The part of the stick-on hook and loop fastener bonded to the furniture surface can then be separated from the furniture surface. Since this part is flexible, it can be detached carefully from the furniture surface without causing damage thereto. This would be difficult if the rigid retaining plate were bonded directly to the furniture surface, since the adhesive compound would have to be torn away simultaneously over the entire bonded area.
Nevertheless, separation of the stick-on hook and loop fastener can cause difficulties, especially in the case of a large-area stick-on hook and loop fastener that is suitable for larger loads, since the rigid structure of the retaining plate means that substantially the entire surfaces of the two stick-on hook and loop fastener must be separated simultaneously. Such separation is certainly possible, since the stick-on hook and loop fastener has minimum elastic compliance perpendicular to its plane, meaning that the retaining plate can be pried up progressively, starting at one end, by means of a lever tool, for example. This small elastic compliance of the stick-on fastener can also lead to undesired gradual loosening of the adhesive compound, however, especially if a very large tilting moment acts on the retaining plate for a prolonged time.
The object of the invention is to provide a device for securing a rigid retaining plate to a furniture surface, which plate combines high loadability with simple detachability of the securing structure.